Rishi Sunak’s mother-in-law appointed to Indian parliament

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s mother-in-law has been appointed to the Indian parliament’s upper chamber after a career in philanthropy.

Sudha Murthy, 73, was chair of the Infosys Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the tech giant Infosys, founded by her husband N.R. Narayana Murthy in 1981.

According to POLITICO, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X that he was “delighted” at Murthy’s nomination to the Rajya Sabha, announced by President Droupadi Murmu.

He added that her “contributions to diverse fields including social work, philanthropy and education have been immense and inspiring.”

Most members of India’s upper house are elected but 12 are nominated by the president for a six-year term in recognition of their contribution to public life.

An engineer by training, Murthy is also an author and her foundation is credited with establishing libraries in rural areas.

The Murthys’ daughter Akshata married Sunak in 2009, and she has recently taken a more visible role in his political career, introducing him at last year’s party conference.

The Indian government has already bestowed Sudha with the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honour, for her career in social work.

Her husband Narayana has an estimated net worth of $4.7 billion, according to Forbes. Sunak is known to be close to his in-laws, who often visit the couple in the U.K.